Method of joining sections of strip for a uniform-speed continuousfeed strip-treating line



1953 J. GREENBERGER 2,662,271

METHOD OF JOINING SECTIONS OF STRIP FOR A UNIFORMSPEED CONTINUOUS-FEEDSTRIP-TREATING LINE Filed March 27, 1948 JNVENTOR. dosm LGREENBERGER.

s QTM 7 His Arron/ye) Patented Dec. I5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEJoseph I. Greenberger, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to United Engineering &Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a. corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication March 27, 1948, Serial No, 37,526

(C1. Elk-148) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the method of and apparatus for the handling,joining together, and storing of successive strips of material incontinuous processing lines in order to insure that adequate materialwill be available for keeping the processing portion of the line incontinuous operation during the interval within which additional coilsof material are introduced into the line and joined to preceding stripspassing therethrough.

By reason of the necessity for intermittently interrupting the steadyflow of strip material passing through processing apparatus which, forexample, may include a pickling or a plating operation, for connectingtogether successive strips of uncoiled material, non-uniform processingof the strip as well as a decrease in the production of the line willresult. In the uncoiling of strip material for continuous processing,particularly in pickling lines, it is necessary to provide adequateuncoiling units which, due to the amount of cold working involved inuncoiling and straightening the strip prior to passage through the lineare quite elaborate and expensive to install. Simple uncoiler-s are not,as a rule, suificient for the purpose since coil breaks will result ifproper care is not exercised in unwrapping each coil as it is added tothe line and therefore elaborate uncoiling means are provided whichinvolve an appreciable time for loading new coils, especially if thecoils have been damaged in the handling thereof subsequent to the hotrolling operation. In addition to this delay, a considerable loss oftime results when the strip ends are sheared and inspected prior to theactual strip end welding operation. Where the features of this inventionare not employed in a strip processing line, it is necessary either toslow down or interrupt entirely the movement of the strip through theprocessing portion of the line during the interval required forintroducing additional material therein and joining the leading endthereof to the trailing end of the strip material immediately preceding.Included among the objects of this invention, therefore, is to provideapparatus for facilitating the storage and the feeding, at a constantspeed, of strip material through continuous processing lines; to providefor the dressing and the welding to ether of the trailing end of onestrip to the leading end of the next adjacent strip without interferingwith the eiiiciency of the line; to provide in a processing line anarrangement whereby the minimum of equipment is required to insurecontinuity and uniformity of operation of the processing portion of theline; and, to provide a method whereby handling and joining togethersuccessively of a plurality of coils of strip material may beexpeditiously and efficiently accomplished and the strip processedwithout interrupting the continuity and operation of the processingline.

The foregoing objects, as well as the various other novel features andadvantages of this in vention, will become apparent from the followingspecification and accompanying drawings or" which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a metal strip processing line inwhich the features of the invention herein disclosed are embodied, and

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation view taken on line IL-II of Figure 1.

With reference to the drawings, Figures 1 and 2, the apparatus asillustrated therein comprises a coil handling gravity conveyor i I, aprocessing uncoiler l2 adjacent thereto, a conveyor it, an up-cut shearI4, a conveyor table I5, a pinch roll unit it, a transversely movableconveyor table H, a looping pit i8 having guide and deflector rollers l9mounted at the entry and de livery ends thereof, a second pinch rollunit 2!, a conveyor 22 having vertical guide rollers 23 mounted thereonadjacent to a flash welder 2s, a stitcher 25, a third pinch roll unit25, a looping pit 21 having guide and deflector rolls 28 secured to theentry and delivery ends thereof and a fourth pinch roll unit 2c.Although not specifically shown herein since it forms no part of thisinvention, following the last-mentioned pinch roll unit there would beincluded equipment such as is usually employed in strip processing lineswhich, though not limited thereto, may include, for example, a platingor a pickling operation.

For each of the separate units in the line which require a source ofpower for the operation thereof, suitable motors, with adequate controlswitches connected electrically to a source of power, not shown, areprovided. An electrical motor 3!, is connected through a gear box 32 tothe pinch roll and strip leveler portion '33 of the uncoiler l2. Theup-cut strip end dressing shear It is driven by the electrical motor 3tconnected thereto through a gear reduction unit 35. The driving meansfor the pinch roll units include a motor '36 with a reducer 3? for unitit, a motor 38 with a reducer so for unit 2 l, a motor 4| with a reducer42 for unit 26, and a motor $3 with a reducer 44 for unit 29. Althoughthe strip end joining means may be actuated and 3 controlledhydraulically, the flash welder 24 is operated by a motor 45 through agear box 46, and the stitcher 25 through a gear box 41 by means of amotor 48.

The transversely movable conveyor section i! is operable by means of areversible hydraulic motor 49 of which the piston rod is connected atits outer end to a boss 52 extending downward from and secured to theside rail 53 of the conveyor section l'!. A pair of tracks 54 extendingtransversely of and anchored to the ends of the pit l8 are engaged bywheels 55 rotatably secured to the end members 56 of the conveyor 11. Asuitable reversing valve 51 is connected to the hydraulic motor 49through pipes 58 and to a source of hydraulic power as shown. Althoughthe valve 5'! is disclosed as being operated by means of a hand lever 59through a rod 6| attached at one end to the lever 59 and at the otherend to the valve 51, a remote control system may be utilized foractuating the valve by means of a solenoid or the like.

In the threading of the processing line and subsequent uncoiling ofadditional coils of strip material, the transversely movable conveyor iiis of considerable aid. When the leading end of the first coil beingunwrapped is squared off in the up-cut shear M, the strip is passedthrough the pinch roll unit it, over the conveyor I? which temporarilybridges the looping pit [8, through the pinch roll unit 2|, welder 24,stitcher 25, pinch roll unit 26 and finally through pinch roll unit 29from where it is threaded into the processing baths which follow. Assoon as the strip begins to travel through the processing appara tus atthe uniform desired speed required therefor and the uncoiling thereofquickly completed, the trailing end is squared off in the shear l4, andthe forward motion thereof interrupted in either the welder 24 or thestitcher 25 depending upon in which unit the joining operation is to beperformed. Excess material of the first coil which will be available forprocessing through the line is accumulated in the looping pit 21. Asecond coil is then placed in the uncoiler [2, the leading end thereofsquared in the shear I4 and quickly fed through the pinch roll unit [6,over conveyor I! to by-pass pit [8, through pinch roll unit 2|, andbrought up to the trailing end of the first strip and joined thereto. Assoon as the leading end of the second strip has passed over the pit l8and between the rolls of the pinch roll unit 2!, the conveyor section 57is rapidly withdrawn to its transversely inactive position, therebypermitting excess strip material of the second coil to be accumulated inthe first looping pit :8. To avoid injury to that portion of the stripwhich has been gathered in the pit It as well as to the sheared trailingend thereof, movement of the trailing end of the second strip can beinterrupted just prior to its entry into the pinch roll unit 16 andmaintained there until all of the material within pit It has beenwithdrawn therefrom and accumulated in the second looping pit 21,whereupon the trailing end is permitted either to pass over theremovable conveyor which may be replaced into its looping pit bypassposition or through the looping pit l8 and through pinch roll unit 21,the movement thereof being interrupted in the desired means provided forjoining the strip ends together. A third coil can then be placed in theuncoiler E2, the leading end thereof squared in the shear Id and, sincethe conveyor section H is quickly positioned over pit l8 as soon as thetrailing end of the previous strip has been withdrawn therefrom, passedthrough pinch roll unit I6, over conveyor section I! to by-pass pit l8and through pinch roll unit 2|. Forward movement thereof is interruptedat a point coinciding with that of the trailing end of the previousstrip where joining of the two strip ends is effected as in the previouscase. As soon as the leading end of the third coil has passed throughpinch roll unit 2|, conveyor section I! is withdrawn transversely to itsinactive position. Excess material of the third coil is then permittedto gather in the looping pit I8, the trailing end being squared in theshear i4 and forward movement interrupted just prior to the entrythereof between the rolls of pinch roll unit It. Succeeding coils, then,are handled in accordance with the foregoing procedure so that anydesired number of coiled strips can be processed rapidly in a continuousmanner.

Since the looping pit I8 is interposed between the up-cut shear l4 andthe strip end joining means comprising welder 2d and stitcher 25, and,further, that the looping pit 27 is adjacent to the processing tanks andat the exit side of the strip end joining means, considerable saving intime as well as an increase in production can be effected inasmuch asthe welding or stitching operation is carried out independently of theshearing operation and, at times, even simultaneously therewith thusmaking the slowest of these operations the limiting factor inestablishing the maximum processing line speeds.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I haveexplained the principle and operation of my invention and haveillustrated and described what I consider to represent the bestembodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that withinthe scope of the appended claims the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In the method of providing continuous strip material for passagethrough the conditioning portion of a processing line at a uniform rateof speed within which there are included in sequence a strip endtrimming means, a strip accumulating zone, a removable zone by-passstrip conveyer adjacent said zone, strip end joining means and a secondstrip accumulating zone, the steps comprising supporting a coil of stripmaterial and uncoiling the strip therefrom at a speed in excess of theuniform speed at which the strip is processed, Icy-passing said firststrip accumulating zone and gathering said strip at the second-mentionedzone for withdrawal therefrom at a uniform rate of speed for processing,trimming the trailing end of the strip, interrupting movement of thetrailing end of the strip at the strip end joining means, supporting asecond coil of strip material and uncoiling a portion thereof, trimmingthe leading end of the strip, by-passing said first-mentioned zone withand interrupting movement of the leading end at a point adjacent to thetrailing end of the preceding strip, joining the ends of the stripstogether while simultaneously uncoiling the remainder of said secondcoil and feeding substantially all of the strip thereof at a speed inexcess of said strip processing speed into said first-mentioned zone,trimming the trailing end therefrom and then accumulating the joinedstrips at said secend zone at a speed in excess of said strip processingspeed, and interrupting movement of the trailing end thereof at thestrip end joining means for joining to the trimmed leading end of astrip subsequently introduced into said line.

2. In the method of providing continuous strip material for passagethrough the conditioning portion of a strip processing line at a uniformrate of speed within which there are included in sequence a strip endtrimming means, a strip accumulating zone, a removable zone by-passstrip guide adjacent said zone, strip end joining means and a secondstrip accumulating zone, the steps comprising trimming the trailing endof strip material previously uncoiled and introduced into said line andinterrupting movement thereof at the strip end joining means, uncoilinga portion of another coil of strip material, trimming the leading endthereof, continuing the uncoiling of said coil and by-passing saidfirstmentioned zone with and interrupting movement of the leading endthereof at a point adjacent to the trailing end of the preceding stripfor joining thereto, joining the ends of the strips together whilesimultaneously uncoiling the remainder of said coil and feedingsubstantially all of the strip thereof at a speed in excess of saidprocessing speed into said first-mentioned zone, trimming the trailingend therefrom and accumulating the joined strips at said second zone ata speed in excess of said strip processing speed and interruptingmovement of the trimmed trailing end thereof at the strip end joiningmeans for joining to the trimmed leading end of a strip subsequentlyintroduced into said line.

JOSEPH I. GREENBERGER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,175,236 Cary Mar. 14, 1916 2,078,365 Biggert Apr. 27, 19372,183,159 Chesley Dec. 12, 1939 2,196,600 Wean Apr. 9, 1940 2,219,049McArthur Oct. 22, 1940 2,204,984 Fenton June 18, 1940 2,238,667 WalesApr. 15, 1941 2,265,052 Anderson Dec. 2, 1941 2,509,304 Klein May 30,1950

